I have been taking Jarrow B-right for some time now and this has in its formula both forms of B6. It has 25mg of Pyridoxine HCL and 10 mg of P-5-P. I have never had a blood test to check my B6 level but could this amount of Pyridoxine be causing me harm? Is it worth having a B6 test just to see?

Tony

There's a visual....going through security with your bomb detonator.

Since joining this board I'm more self aware.... As you say for you strong emotion can trigger an 'attack' that can last for days. Physiologically speaking that makes perfect sense. The body is flooded with all kinds of hormones and substances when strong emotions of any kind are experienced. I'm learning to pay more attention, to notice the things that seem to make my symptoms worse. That's exactly why I caught what was happening. I just still haven't figured out specifically what the trigger or triggers were. Being that if it was stress the trip to see my daughter and all the running around we did *should* have been a major trigger for increased symptoms. In fact the opposite seemed to happen. The only thing that changed over the two week period afterwards ( I went back to eating as I was prior to the trip, etc) was not taking my vitamins. In fact I ate a lot of fast food while there. So there was another trigger that didn't. I've gone over this in my mind and over it. The only thing that I can point to is the vitamins. Everything else should have made my symptoms *worse* not better. Even the lack of vitamins, when taken with the other things should have made things worse, much worse. Not better. So I'm left scratching my head. And the longer I didn't take the vitamins the less the symptoms I had. That was what led me to the conclusions I seem to see. If symptoms increase again now that I'm taking what vitamins I am I'll start a process of elimination. One at a time until I can find the culprit. It could be something silly like the garlic oil. Who knows. But I will find it!

I'm really gonna freak if it turns out it was the fast food and late hours.

Barbara

IMO, when in doubt get tested. It's a simple blood test. The only question I have is is the test like for B-12 in that the actual blood level may not be an accurate indicator of either too much or not enough, just on its own?

Barbara

Unfortunately, the B6 test is not reliable.

Problems are very rare with doses of 200 mg per day for a long period of time. Of course there are always exceptions.

If I suspected B6, I would stop all B6. If the B6 is causing a problem, that problem should reverse pretty quickly. Then, when taking B6 in the future I would take the P-5-P type.

rise

It's not that I am ignoring your responses about the P-5-P. It's my ignorance of not knowing what it really is and how much to take and what more or less damage it would do to me. I have been trying to find more information about it with not much luck, although I have been able to research the info on the B-12 and have come to the conculsion that you can't take too much as far as researchers know. But what is a good dosage? I think through reading through some of the responses today, I have figured out how the P-5-P works. But how much to make it not harmful to me? It's a scary thing when it has caused as much damage as I have. I am in severe pain most of the time. I have no feeling from my knees down except for pain and my hands and arms are well on their way too. I get really scared as to how far this is going to go. I am only 46 years old. I am suppose to still have a life and wanted to enjoy my grandchildren more than I am able to now.

Julie, I understand EXACTLY what you are saying. I feel the same way...that I have been robbed of the life I expected to live. I also find it fecinating about the feelings...why is it we cannot feel pleasure but so vividly do we feel pain?

Dorothy

Animals handle pain much better than we do, and they have a lot to teach us. They don't worry about tomorrow, or remember how great it was when they were young or before they got arthritis. Instead, they live in the here-and-now, moment by moment. If they're hungry and are offered food, they eat with pleasure. In moments of respite, they play, not worrying about when the next flareup will occur. Even if its hard for them to get up, they respond warmly and with pleasure to a kind word and gentle caress.

If you are "robbed" of the life you expected, what about the life you have now? What about the life you could have now? Beauty is still out there, as is the possibility of love. A great peach can still be heaven to smell and eat, and great music can still be sublime. Why be robbed of the life you have now, which is real and full of possibility, because of expectations you had which are not real (they are a memory of an abstraction) and have no possibility.

We have no access to the past or future, only the present, to make of as we choose, pain and disability or not. We might not be able to choose being pain free, any more than we can choose be 25 years old again, but we can chose to live a full, rewarding, and fulfilling life, to be happy, to learn, and to be as healthy as we can.

I did buy some Vitamine B-12 tonight, but I had no luck finding the P-5-P B6. Maybe I need to go to a health food store? I will keep looking.

I do try to live my life to the fullest each day. I try to stay positive and cheerful. But you have to be able to get the pain under control in able to concentrate on anything else. My doctor has put me on Lamictal to try to get the pain under control since nothing else has helped (neurotin, Tegretol).

I have mixed feelings on all of this. I do know that blood work can be not accurate like Rose said. I was basically dead the monitor was beeping, I was more then 40 pounds under weight, my hair and eye brows were falling out but blood work good? How? I will say though I do think on some supplements too much can be harmful. I always check with my docs but as we know they know very little. I have asked like 5 and have been told at least 3 things. I also think what works for one with supplements,meds,nutrition won't for another. For ex being 29 and not diabetic compared to a 60 diabetic the needs are way different. Often I think docs don't look into that. That is why I still encourage people here even to look into a nutritionist that has expertise in the area you struggle. I still think Rose and Ms D and other ones should look into a career of that. As for feelings and pain. Like I said that was a huge factor in the program I was at and also learning to have a better quality of life. I know for me I tend to focus on what I can't do or the pain I do have but not from the progress I make. I picked up at the library the Mayo Clinic on chronic pain and it looks into all aspects of treatment. Not only the procedures,meds,pain clinic but emotions. It deals with managing stress,anger,practicing positive thinking,setting goals. I encourage everyone to get it. Being positive is not my strong point before this but really I do think frame of mind has so much to do with quality of life. Now its getting there.

Julie,

Yes, you most likely would need to go to a health food store or order online.

Last I knew, Solgar had a good P-5-P. That "specially coated" one has shown itself effective. 50 mg is a conservative dose of B6, and the P-5-P form is more effective and safer. Again, if I thought I had symptoms of an overload of B6 (and that would be extremely rare under 100 mg), I would stop altogether for a while, and then I would take only the P-5-P form. If the symptoms don't disappear pretty quickly after stopping the B6, it is extremely unlikely that is what caused them.

B12 dose at least 1000 mcg at a time (not timed release). If the form is methylcobalamin, many timed more can be taken safely.

Best wishes,

rose